


moonlight making crosses

by Anonymous



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Kissing, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-08
Updated: 2018-07-08
Packaged: 2019-06-07 10:52:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15217601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: It’s beautiful, Axel thinks as he traces reverent circles across Saix’s moon-painted skin - Saix in his element is nothing short of a masterpiece, an otherworldly creature that’s just out of reach and yet belonging to Axel alone.[Day 1: sun & moon]





	moonlight making crosses

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Akusai Month! :) Cross-posting my fics for this month on AO3 and tumblr.
> 
> The title and quote at the beginning are from "Snow and Dirty Rain" by Richard Siken.

_Moonlight spilling_  
_on the bathroom floor. A page of the book where we_  
_transcend the story of our lives, past the taco stands_  
_and record stores. Moonlight making crosses_  
_on your body, and me putting my mouth on every one._

 

The day reaches its end, and Axel carries his world-weary body back to his room, the creak in his bones a slow moan, an old song.  Saix is right behind him, and the moment the door is closed, Axel spins on his heels, tired, wanting eyes meeting Saix’s in the dim light.  He doesn’t speak, just smiles, a little _stay a while_ , _please,_ as he reaches for Saix’s coat.  Some nights they move in haste: scrambling hands, hot mouths meeting in a hurry, like this is the last night they’ll ever have together.

Today, the weight of the world lies heavy on Axel’s shoulders, and he’s slow to peel off Saix’s coat, gentle as he strips him of his undershirt, loving as he presses Saix down onto his messy sheets.  Axel allows himself a moment to simply press their bodies together, to brush his nose along Saix’s jawline, press a sweet kiss, a shuddering breath against his neck. He’s toeing the line of what Saix would call _foolish intimacy,_ but maybe a little foolish intimacy is exactly what Saix needs tonight, if the way he huffs a content breath and tips his head back into the pillow says anything.

Slivers of moonlight peek through the cream curtains, illuminating Axel’s dark room in streaks of gentle greys and whites.  The soft, ethereal light pours onto Saix’s bare torso, as if the moon rays’ know their wielder, their master, and helplessly gravitates to him.  It’s beautiful, Axel thinks as he traces reverent circles across Saix’s moon-painted skin - Saix in his element is nothing short of a masterpiece, an otherworldly creature that’s just out of reach and yet belonging to Axel alone.

Saix shifts, and the subtle movement shifts the angle of the cascading light, covering more of his body in a celestial gown.  Maybe Saix is aware, maybe he can _feel_ the moon’s power even now, judging by the way he clenches and unclenches his fist like it’s an involuntary reaction, a jungle-cat purr building in his throat.  Perched upon Saix’s hips, Axel drinks in the sight that lays before him like a feast, stopping only when he notices the way the light changes its angle again with another shift from Saix.  It’s small, subtle, but Axel can just make out the ‘X’ of light against Saix’s chest, a familiar, damning mark.

If he had his heart, this is where it’d drop to his stomach.

Shoulders slumping, Axel takes another look at Saix: the way he can’t seem to lie still, the way his fool’s gold eyes gleam with power, the kind that’s a blessing and a curse.   _The kind they want you for, the kind they exploit you for_.  And as long as the Organization still stands, they’ll continue to poke and prod him like cattle until they expose the moon-drunk beast, an X-branded creature born from Isa’s trauma, manifesting into a weapon at their disposal.  Axel hates it, he _hates_ it, wishes he could burn it all away with a snap of his fingers, with a flash of his fire, a healing sun to counteract the chaotic moon.

Chest aching, Axel leans down presses his lips to the small ‘X’, both in reverence in apology, _I’m sorry they’re doing this to you, I’m sorry you’ll wear that mark on your face for life, I’m sorry we were stupid kids who ever wanted to investigate the castle in the first place._

He can’t take back the past, can’t even stop the present from breaking into pieces in his hands like grains of sand slipping past his fingers, but he can do this: kiss the X and all other light on Saix’s body, hoping Saix can feel the way his tongue traces apologies, how his lips burn with a redemption he so badly wishes he could give.  He kisses up Saix’s chest, his neck, until he can capture Saix’s lips in a sloppy, fervent kiss, groaning helplessly when Saix kisses back and tangles a hand in Axel’s hair, keeping him close.

Pulling back for air, Axel mindlessly nuzzles against Saix’s cheek, presses a kiss to one unnaturally pointed ear.   _We’re gonna make things right.  You and me._

***

They wake as they fell asleep: slowly, in a tangle of limbs and half-kicked off bed sheets. Images from the night before play through Axel's head as he comes to; how he covered Saix’s body with his own until all moonlit crosses faded away; their bodies moving together in a slow, deep rhythm; the way he kissed the X on Saix’s face, another unspoken apology; the way Saix leaned into each touch, as if to surrender to Axel’s quiet fury, his need to be as close as possible.

Saix stirs next to him, snapping him out of his stupor.  This is where Isa would always grumble about the sun getting in his eyes, but there’s no sun here, only a heavy, eternal darkness, offset by the faint glow of Kingdom Hearts.   _I’ll be enough sun for both of us here,_ he promised Saix when they first arrived.  Enough sun to drown out the darkness, to keep them both warm on the coldest of nights - that’s what he promised, right?  The memories have blurred in his mind, photographs fading at the edges. He can’t be sure anymore.

Axel presses a hand to his chest, wills the ache away as Saix throws an arm over his face, blocking out an imaginary light.  It’s an action that’s so _Isa_ that Axel can’t help but to smile, nothing more than a little tug of his lips, but a genuine reaction nonetheless.

“Mooorning,” Axel says, syllable slurred from sleep. “Think you overslept, sir.”

Saix grumbles something beneath his breath, peeks out at Axel from beneath his arm. “Morning, sunshine.”

And for a moment, the world stops.

It’s only a single word, one Saix probably didn’t even think about, but.

_That’s what Isa always used to say to you._

Axel had almost forgotten.  But he can see it clearly in his head now, memories of Isa snarking to Lea, who was never good in the mornings, despite his affinity to fire.   _Good morning, sunshine,_ Isa would tease, and Axel would roll his eyes and pretend he didn’t love it.

But he did, he _does_ , and there’s still Isa inside of Saix, no matter how the Organization has warped him, no matter the way they exploit and torture him.

_Good morning, sunshine._

_Oh, Isa._

Axel laughs, shrill and borderline hysterical, and he rolls atop Saix before he can complain.  Using his power to warm his hands, he caresses down Saix’s stomach, every inch where there was once moonlight, soothing the trauma the only way Axel knows how as he clings steadfast to the promises he made, from the night before and from many years ago.

_Gonna make things right for us.  Just you wait._

 


End file.
